morris



Patented Ian. 3, I899.

N0. BI7,255.

A. R. MORRIS.

TABLET MACHINE.

(Application filed. Sept.'4, 1897.)

. Sheets-Sheet L (N0 Model.)

RBI

THE NORMS PsYzRs co, pnoruuma. WASHINGI:(JN. p. c.

Patented Ian. 3, 1899.

No. 6I7,255.

A. B. MORRIS. TA BLET MACHINE. (Application filed Sept. 4, 1897.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

fliiorne s,

m: uonms FETERS co. PNOYO-L1THO.. WASHINGTON, u. c.

Paten ced'lan. 3, I899.

A. R. MORRIS.

TABLET MACHINE.

(Application filed Sept. 4, 1897.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

FIG, 3.

Patented Jan. 3 1899..

A. n. monms. TABLET MACHINE.

(Application filed Sept. 4, 1897.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

- (No Model.)

ABRAHAM ROWLAND MORRIS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HENRY K. MULFORD, OF SAME PLACE.

TABLET-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 617,255, dated January 3, 1899.

Application filed September 4, 1897. Serial No. 650,652. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM ROWLAND MORRIS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Tablet-Ma-. chines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction of machines for compressing powdered material into tablets, 850., so that they will be easy-running, not liable to get out of order, and easily adjusted.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of a tablet-machine made in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a side view. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan View on the line 4 4, Fig.

a. Fig. 5 is a side view of the table, looking in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the table. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the feed-plate. Fig. 8

is a detached perspective View of the lower plunger, and Figs. land 10 are face views of the cams.

A is the frame of the machine.

13 is a driven shaft adapted to bearings a a in the frame A and to a bearing a in a bracket A, projecting from the rear of the machine. On the shaft .B is a fly-wheel B and fast and loose belt-pulleys b b, to which is adapted the driving-belt. Also on the shaft are two cams G C and an eccentric C, which impart movement to the several parts of the machine.

D is the upper plunger, adapted to a split bearing (4 which can be adjusted by clampscrews (L The plunger has an adjustable section D, connected at d to an eccentricstrap d, adapted to the eccentric G. The plunger D is made adjustable, so as to bring it nearer to or farther from the compressingpoint, and has at its lower end a chuck d for holding the punch d A is a table which is split on one side and has an opening, in one end of which reststhe die f and in the other end works the plunger E. The die is held in position by a clampscrew 70, which draws the two sections of the table tightly onto the die. The lower plunger E carries a punch e, adapted to slide in the die f, and is secured in the plunger by means of a set-screw e ,which extends through the slot f in the table, so that the punch can be removed and replaced without dismantling the machine. The lower plunger E is made in three partsa head 6, a stem 6 and a sleeve e The head is split and has an internal and an external screw-thread, and the stem 6 has a threaded end adapted to the internal screw-thread of the head and has at the opposite enda block a. The split sleeve 6 is adapted to the external screw-thread of the head and carries a screw-threaded collar 6 adapted to a screw-thread on the sleeve. This collar is adjustable on the sleeve, so as to take up lost motion when necessary, and can be set in position after adjustment by a screw 6 G is a cam-actuated rod having a pin which extends into the cam O, and on the lower end of the rod is an arm "g, having a forked end extending between'the sleeve e and the block 6 on the stem 6 so that as the rod is actuated by the cam movement will be imparted to the lower plunger E. I make the connection between the rod G and the arm 9 adjustable. The arm has a screw-thread g, to which is adapted a nut 9 This nut rests in a recess in the arm g, so that by turning the nut in one direction or the other the arm can be raised or lowered on the rod, so as to adjust it with respect to the sleeve and block of the plunger E, and thus take up for wear. The arm can be set in the adjusted position by a screw 9 In order to feed the material to the die f and to discharge the tablet, I pivot the feedplate I at 'i to the table A The plate has a passage '5 for the material and is connected by a flexible tube 11 to the hopper I, fixed at one side of the machine, and I operate this feed-plate by means of a lever J, having two arms, one arm j engaging with the cam 0 Fig. 10, and the other arm j having an adjustable extension j resting in a slot 2' in the plate I, Fig. 4. As the lever is moved by the cam 0?, which is of the form clearly shown in Fig. 10, the plate is moved forward to discharge the compressed tablet, as shown in Fig. 3, and to charge the die with material. The plate is then moved back clear of the die, so that the plungers will be free to compress the tablet.

The plate is agitated by the cam, which has a series of elevations f, as shown in Fig. 10. By the above operation a tablet is first discharged and new material allowed to pass into the die. The plate is then moved to one side. The plungers compress the material in the die, after which the plate is moved the full movement forward,sweepin g the finished tablet off of the lower plunger and die and into the spout K.

I preferably make this device as shown, so that the material will be agitated and will readily flow into the lower die, dispensing with the other agitating means, and I so time the movement of the lower punch that it will recede as the die is charged, tending to draw the material into the die.

The several parts of the machine are adjusted as follows: The plungerD is adjusted by means of the screw-threaded section D, which enters a screw-threaded opening in the plunger D, and by turning the plunger it can be raised and lowered and set in the adjusted position by a lock-nut. This adjustment is for the purpose of regulating the thickness of the tablet to be formed. There are two adjustments of the lower plunger E, one for the amount of material to be compressed and the other to bring the lower punch up flush with the surface of the table A so that the tablet can be discharged Without breaking. Thestem e is adjusted in the head e for different quantities of material and is locked in the adjusted position by the sleeve e which is released prior to turning the stem and is again fastened after the stem is turned. The sleeve 6 is raised or lowered, so as to bring the top of the lower punch flush with the top of the table or die when it is at its highest point, and after adjustment the sleeve is looked, as remarked above. So it will be seen that I can readily adjust the several parts to make a tablet having the proper quantity of powdered material and can make it of a given size by simply adjusting the several parts. The die in this instance is simply a hardmetal cylinder having an opening of the same diameter throughout, and it can be readily set in the opening in the table, and when one face is worn it can be reversed, thus increasing the life of the die.

I preferably make the lever J for operating the plate I in two sections, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, the lower section j being made in one piece with the pivot-shaft, and the section j is coupled to this pivoted shaft by a suitable set-screw, so that one arm of the lever can be adjusted with respect to the other, and I make the extension 7' on the arm j adjustable and removable, so that it can be replaced when necessary and can be adjusted when worn.

The operation of the machine is as follows: If the punches are set so that the die will receive the given amount of material, the punches will compress this material into a tablet and the punch will raise-sufficiently so that the tablet can be discharged. I proceed by filling the hopper with dry material, which will flow through the flexible tube into the opening t" in the plate I, and when the plate reaches a position over the die the lower punch will recede and the material will flow into the die, the receding of the punch also tending to draw the material into the die. When the plate moves to one side of the opening in the die, the lower punch is in its lowest position, so arranged that its head 6 will rest upon the base of the machine. The upper punch will be forced down into the die and will compress the material therein to the proper degree, making a tablet of a given thickness and density. The cam for lifting the lower punch and eccentric are so timed that the lower punch will follow the upper punch shortly after it commences to withdraw from the die and the lower punch will continue its motion until it is flush with the surface of the table, and when it has reached this point the plate I moves forward across the die, removing the formed tablet from the punch and die and discharging it into the spout K at the side and the die will be again charged with fresh material.

As shown in Fig. 10, I agitate the sliding plate I, as it is above the die, so that the material will feed regularly from the hopper, and by this means I dispense entirely with any separate agitators in the hopper or in the passage from the hopper to the die.

In constructing the machine I make the lower plunger with a loose working fit in the table A and the stem e a very loose fit in the opening in the base of the machine, but the punch is a tight working fit in the die, so that the plunger accommodates itself to the punch and die. punch, and I am enabled to make the machine run much easier than heretofore, where the plunger or carrier for the lower punch was always a snug working fit.

It will be not-iced that the lower plunger is operated by a double-faced cam having two operating-surfaces, one at o and the other at a. By this construction I am enabled to obtain the movements usually accomplished by two independent cams.

It will be seen that I can readily adjust the parts without dismantling the machine. The die can be removed by simply unscrewing the clamp-screw k and another die substituted therefor, and by turning the sleeve 6 on the head 6 I can adjust the lower punch, and by turning the upper plunger D on the screw threaded section D, I can adjust the upper punch.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination in a tablet-machine, of a frame, a shaft thereon, an eccentric and a cam on the shaft, a die, an upper compressingplunger having a strap adapted to the eccen trio, a rod having a pin engaging the cam and screw-threaded at its lower end, an arm on the lower end of the rod and a nut on the rod for By thismeans I do not strain the I adjusting said arm, a lower plunger actuated by the arm and means for adjusting said plunger, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a frame, upper and lower plungers adapted to bearings therein, a die, a driven shaft, an eccentric on the shaft, an eccentric-strap, a screw-threaded section adapted to the screw-threaded orifice in the upper plunger and connected to the eccentricstrap, a cam on the driven shaft, a rod engaging with said cam, a vertically-adjustable arm on the rod adapted to slide in bearings in the frame and engage the lower plunger, with means for adjusting the lower plunger vertically and an adjustable stop on the lower plunger, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a frame, a driven shaft, an upper plunger, means for operating said plunger from the shaft, a fixed die,a cam a rod engaging the cam, an arm adjustably secured to the rod and forked at its outer end, and a lower plunger adapted to the forked arm, substantially as described.

at. The combination in a tablet-machine, of a die, an upper plunger, a lower plunger made in three sections, consisting of a head, stem, and a sleeve,th e stem and sleeve being adj ustable on the head, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a lower plunger of a tablet-machiue,of a head having an inner and outer screw-thread, a retracting-stem adapted to the inner screw-thread, a split sleeve adapted to the outer screw-thread and having an adjustable collar against which the elevating mechanism strikes, substantially as described.

6. The combination in a tablet-machine, of a split table, a die mounted therein, means for contracting the said table so as to hold the die, a plunger adapted to slide in the table and having a punch extending into the die, and a binding-screw in the plunger and proj ecting through the split in the table, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a tablet-machine, of the die, the lower plunger consisting of a split head having inner and outer screw-threads, a split sleeve adapted to the outer screwthread, a stem adapted to the inner screwthread so that on tightening the sleeve it will tighten the head onto the stem so that the stem and sleeve will be fixed to the head.

8. The combination in a tablet-machine, of a table, a die secured to the table, a lower plunger adapted to slide loosely in the frame, a punch secured to the plunger and having a tight working fit in the die, a forked arm loosely fitting the plunger, with means for raising and lowering said arm, the loose fit of the parts with the exception of the punch and the die preventing binding, substantially as described.

9. The combination in a tablet-machine, of a die, an upper plunger, a lower plunger, a driven shaft, a grooved cam on said shaft, a rod having a pin adapted to the groove in the cam, an arm on the rod adapted to engage with the lower plunger, one face of the cam adapted to move the plunger forward and the other face of the cam adapted to retract the plunger, substantially as described.

10. The combination in a tablet-machine, of the table, a die therein, a feed-plate pivoted to the table and connected to a hopper, a driven shaft, a cam on said shaft, a lever having a detachable and a fixed arm, the detachable arm engaging the cam, and the fixed arm having an adjustable extension adapted to a slot in the feed-plate, substantially as described.

11. The combination of a frame having a projecting table, adie clamped in said table, a driving-shaft adapted to bearings in the frame, an eccentric on the driving-shaft, an upper plunger adjustably secured to an eccentric-strap adapted to the eccentric, and carrying a punch adapted to the die, a lower plunger carrying a punch, an arm engaging the lower plunger, a rod screw-threaded at its lower end and adapted to pass through the arm, and a nut on the rod confined in the arm, said rod having a pin at its upper end adapted to the cam, the lower plunger being made in three adjustable parts, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ABRAHAM ROWLAND MORRIS.

Witnesses:

WILL. A. BARR, Jos. I'I. KLEIN. 

